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Building Your Visual Resume

A producer hires a director based on the director's "reel," or what you might think of as their "visual resume." But keep in mind that when a producer evaluates a director's reel, all that matters is what the producer sees on that reel.

Here's how I created my visual resume the very first time I interned on a film set.

When the crew was on their lunch break, I walked up to the Cinematographer and offered him $200 simply to turn the camera on while I was goofing off with two actors -- rehearsing, ad-libbing, etc. No one knew the camera was rolling, but I got three minutes of some great footage.

Once I edited those three minutes of footage down to one, it looked like it was pulled out of an actual motion picture. I then used that footage for my director's reel to land my first directing job on a film called "Love Goggles." (Editor's Note: that film was a Sundance Film Festival winner.)

Will it work for you? I don't know. There is no one "magic" ingredient for success in the film business. The main thing you need is passion for what you're doing. If you have the passion the rest will come easy for you.

And remember, in this industry being "clever" is more important than being "smart."

by:

Tony Travis
Image Transform, Inc.
New York, NY



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